1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to bumper pads and more specifically to a safety bumper pad which prevents an infant from pushing an arm or leg through a crib side wall.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
There have been several attempts at producing a bumper pad which prevents an infant from pushing an arm or leg through a crib side wall. U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,611 to Mallett discloses a fitted safety crib sheet integral bumper liner. U.S. Pat. No. 5,410,765 to Youngblood discloses a crib bumper pad. Both of these designs use fabric straps to fasten the bumper pad to the crib side wall. These fabric straps must be tied and untied. Further, the most common way of tying the fabric straps is using a bow knot.
Unfortunately, infants are capable of reaching over the bumper pad and untying the bow knots. Infants are also capable of untying the bow knot by pulling or tugging on the bumper pad. In some cases, the fabric straps may be torn off the bumper pad by infant tugging. If a baby is successful at untying the bow knot, the baby will be able to pull down the bumper pad and push an arm or leg through the crib side wall. Even worse, if the baby unties bow knots on at least one side of the crib, the baby may push or throw the bumper pad out of the crib.
Accordingly, there is a clearly felt need in the art for a safety bumper pad which prevents an infant from pushing an arm or leg through a crib side wall, allows the safety bumper pad to be easily attached to and detached from a crib, and provides an attachment device which cannot be detached by an infant.